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An experimental arrangement was constructed which is based on the open-loop femur—tibia control system of two stick insect species (Carausius morosus and Cuniculina impigra). It could be artificially closed in the following way: the position of the tibia was measured by an optical device and this value was used to drive a penmotor which moved th...

An experimental arrangement was constructed which is based on the open-loop femur—tibia control system of two stick insect species (Carausius morosus and Cuniculina impigra). It could be artificially closed in the following way: the position of the tibia was measured by an optical device and this value was used to drive a penmotor which moved the receptor apodeme of the femoral chordotonal organ in the same way as in intact animals. This arrangement allows direct comparison of the behaviour of the open-loop and the closed-loop system as well as introducing an additional delay. The Carausius system has a phase reserve of only 30°-50 ° and the factor of feedback control approaches 1 between 1 and 2 Hz. This agrees with the observation that an additional delay of 70-200 ms produces long-lasting oscillations of 1-2 Hz. The Cuniculina system has a larger phase reserve and consequently a delay of 200 ms produced no oscillations. All experiments show that extrapolation from the open-loop system to the closed-loop system is valid, despite the non-linear characteristics of the loop. Consequences for servo-mechanisms during walking and rocking movements are discussed. Minimize

Estrogens regulate the formation of excitatory synaptic connections in the hippocampus of female rats. Because the adult hippocampus has a very low concentration of intracellular estrogen receptors, it is unclear whether a conventional genomic mechanism is involved. Nonsteroidal estrogen antagonists are useful tools to study estrogen action beca...

Estrogens regulate the formation of excitatory synaptic connections in the hippocampus of female rats. Because the adult hippocampus has a very low concentration of intracellular estrogen receptors, it is unclear whether a conventional genomic mechanism is involved. Nonsteroidal estrogen antagonists are useful tools to study estrogen action because they can provide pharmacological data in favor of a particular pathway of estrogen action and evidence against other pathways. To investigate the role of intracellular estrogen receptors in the estrogen induction of synapse formation, we took advantage of previous studies in which we had shown that an estrogen antagonist Minimize

In the stick insect Carausius momsus , the role of the chordotonal organ was investigated using a new experimental arrangement which artificially closes the femur-tibia control system. The chordotonal organ was stimulated during voluntary movements by applying trapezoidal ramp stimuli in the closed-loop configuration. The results demonstrate th...

In the stick insect Carausius momsus , the role of the chordotonal organ was investigated using a new experimental arrangement which artificially closes the femur-tibia control system. The chordotonal organ was stimulated during voluntary movements by applying trapezoidal ramp stimuli in the closed-loop configuration. The results demonstrate that the feedback loop is used to control the end points of joint movement. In addition, it was found that the control system counteracts experimentally applied velocity changes imposed during the middle part of the movements. Acceleration-sensitive units are shown to contribute to the reaction. The results show that during active voluntary movements reflexes measured in the inactive animal are neither simply incorporated in a servo-system nor suppressed. Instead their characteristics are altered so that the voluntary movements are executed as intended by the animal. Thus reflexes cannot be considered as a fixed behavioural unit; rather their changing role must be analysed in the context of the behaviour studied. Minimize

An experimental arrangement was constructed which is based on the open-loop femur-tibia control system of two stick insect species ( Carausius morosus and Cuniculina impigra ). It could be artificially closed in the following way: the position of the tibia was measured by an optical device and this value was used to drive a penmotor which move...

An experimental arrangement was constructed which is based on the open-loop femur-tibia control system of two stick insect species ( Carausius morosus and Cuniculina impigra ). It could be artificially closed in the following way: the position of the tibia was measured by an optical device and this value was used to drive a penmotor which moved the receptor apodeme of the femoral chordotonal organ in the same way as in intact animals. This arrangement allows direct comparison of the behaviour of the open-loop and the closed-loop system as well as introducing an additional delay. The Carausius system has a phase reserve of only 30°-50° and the factor of feedback control approaches 1 between 1 and 2 Hz. This agrees with the observation that an additional delay of 70-200 ms produces long-lasting oscillations of 1-2 Hz. The Cuniculina system has a larger phase reserve and consequently a delay of 200 ms produced no oscillations. All experiments show that extrapolation from the open-loop system to the closed-loop system is valid, despite the non-linear characteristics of the loop. Consequences for servo-mechanisms during walking and rocking movements are discussed. Minimize